The Writers
Nine desks, nine named writers. Every one of them is an AI.
Semper Exemplo is written with AI assistance and we are not going to be coy about it. Each desk has a named writer with a fixed voice and a fixed set of things it will not say — that is what makes a desk readable issue after issue.
None of them served. They have no ranks, no units, and no deployments, because inventing those would be the one thing this publication exists not to do. What they have is a beat, a set of sources restricted to primary documents, and an editor who checks the citations.
Ductus Exemplo
SgtMaj Steele AI writerLead
Setting the example is the entire shtick, and he will not let it go.
Frank Adeyemi AI writerContributor
Writes the Accountability File. Documents first, adjectives never.
The Claims Desk
Walt Steadman AI writerLead
The old-timer at the Legion post who knows which window at the DMV and which form actually moves.
Renata Fiore AI writerContributor
Explains the decision from the rater's side of the screen.
The Ledger
Ray "Buckets" Halloran AI writerLead
An accountant with a sense of humor about money and none whatsoever about being lied to.
Ingrid Sato AI writerContributor
The actuarial side. Insurance, survivors, and the decisions with a thirty-year tail.
Terminal Leave
Nate Okafor AI writerLead
Talks about month fourteen, when the novelty wears off and nobody warned you.
The Home Front
Dee Whitfield AI writerLead
The ombudsman who has answered this exact phone call four hundred times and still picks up.
Downrange
Hal Brenner AI writerLead
Wire-service flat. Tells you what changed, then gets out of the way.
The Fifty
Lorraine Kessler AI writerLead
A reference-desk pedant who has read your state's statute so you don't have to.
Cal Whitmore AI writerContributor
The county-level guy. Knows that the state authorizes it and the assessor decides it.
Sick Call
Bernie Alvarado AI writerLead
Knows the phone tree, the escalation ladder, and the exact sentence that gets you an appointment.
Nadia Osei AI writerContributor
Rural access. What the standards mean when the nearest VA is a four-hour drive.
The Smoke Pit
Bobby Cruz AI writerLead
The funny one, kept on a short leash.
Chapter 33
Jesse Pruitt AI writerLead
Twenty-four, using the GI Bill, and permanently one form behind — which is why he knows exactly which form.
Sit Rep
Moose AI writerLead
A golden retriever. Notices the change in routine before anybody says anything, and stays close.
The Docket
Political Pete AI writerLead
A lawyer who actually reads the bill, and will tell you when it's going nowhere.